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| Matthew 16:2-4 |
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Lesson # Matt. 16:2-4 Study Material - Matt. 16:2-4 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 16:2-4 2 [de] He answered [apokrinomai] and said [epo] unto them [autos] , When it is [ginomai] evening [opsios] , ye say [lego] , It will be fair weather [eudia] : for [gar] the sky [ouranos] is red [purrhazo] . 3 And [kai] in the morning [proi] , It will be foul weather [cheimon] to day [semeron] : for [gar] the sky [ouranos] is red [purrhazo] and lowring [stugnazo] . O ye hypocrites [hupokrites] , ye can [ginosko] discern [diakrino] [men] the face [prosopon] of the sky [ouranos] ; but [de] can ye [dunamai] not [ou] discern the signs [semeion] of the times [kairos] ? 4 A wicked [poneros] and [kai] adulterous [moichalis] generation [genea] seeketh after [epizeteo] a sign [semeion] ; and [kai] there shall no [ou] sign [semeion] be given [didomi] unto it [autos] , but [ei me] the sign [semeion] of the prophet [prophetes] Jonas [Ionas] . And [kai] he left [kataleipo] them [autos] , and departed [aperchomai] . KJV-Interlinear Matt. 16:2-4 2 But He answered and said to them, 'When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 'And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.' And He left them, and went away. NAS The liberal minded person does not prefer the speculations of science, philosophy or psychology because these are necessarily more provable or persuasive, they just reject that which is true in order to maintain whatever position they deem important to themselves. These Pharisees and Sadducees did not want to see a sign from heaven. They wanted to discredit Him (Jesus) in public, so as to elevate themselves in the minds of the public. Truth is never an issue with negative minded people. That is, negative with respect to the Bible, or even negative with respect to the truth regarding life. We see a lot of this kind of attitude in politics, or public opinion, as people debate opposite sides of an issue, while disregarding the facts of a matter. History records Voltaire as saying, 'Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.' The spiritually negative person will always find a way to reject the truth, even to the point of denying the undeniable. Why? Because they, of their own volition, will reject the truth and continue to wallow within the darkness of their own soul. People become set in their own ways, and they become comfortable within their set ways. Their 'ways' become their undoing. If a person's heart is set on darkness, then when the light comes, he curses it. Mans nature is that of evil. There is no basic good in mankind. That idea is a fallacy of human propaganda. Presuming that there is some good in man implies that man can crawl out of his own pit on his own energy, and is a total contradiction to the view of the Bible. In man there is no good. Mans works were rejected at the Cross. Man has no part in his own salvation. That work is exclusive to God and God alone. Next, Satan sows deceit into the world. Beginning with Eve, 'You can be like God!' Satan appeals to human curiosity and when combined with ignorance, to mans arrogance. That sends man of the cliff of destruction. Third, man chooses to pursue the darkness (absence of the light of Gods truth), so by his own volition, man chases after that which he knows to be untrue. Man would have to admit his own flaws, would have to change to a more honorable life style, and this all conflicts with mans sin nature which is ingrained into the biological fabric of mans being. The Pharisees and others were comfortable with the life they had defined for themselves. They were fueled by their own sin natures, and that pushed them further and further from Gods Word. Here is the Son of God standing right before them. Just sitting down and listening to Him, just watching all the miracles that He performed with total ease and authority, should be enough, more than enough proof so as to convince anyone as to His identity. But these negative people rejected not only His identity, they rejected the good that He was accomplishing for all of those in need of medical help and so forth. Spiritually negative people seek proofs and more proofs, not to secure the truth, but to perpetuate an argument. They are not interested in the truth. They are not interested in helping those who are in need of help. They are only interested in their own life, in their own career, in their own control over whatever is in the public eye. They seek power, wealth, and their own ego driven approbation. They attempt to take or secure by deceit, those things (positions of authority and power) which they are not entitled to, nor is there any need for. Spiritually negative people try to redefine life and include themselves in the higher positions so as to 'help' all who are in need of 'their' leadership. Jesus gives these closed minded people yet one more sign, and that is the sign of His own burial in the heart of the earth for three days, just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days. And during those three days, the Pharisees and other religious leaders will be celebrating the Passover Feast in their usual form, with no clue as to what it all meant, while Jesus will be actually fulfilling it connecting fact with reality and completing yet another piece of the human history puzzle in Gods plan. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
